The invention relates to weather sensors and a method of providing a warning of severe weather conditions. In particular, the invention relates to a battery operated severe weather detector which operates by sensing rapid rates of change in the atmospheric pressure and sounding a voice-enunciated alarm. The device is suitable for detecting and warning of approaching severe weather, including tornadoes, with sufficient timeliness and accuracy to allow the user to seek shelter before severe weather impacts.
It is commonly known in the art to use mechanical and electrical means to detect severe weather. However, these existing devices have not been able to significantly reduce the number of lives lost and amount of property damage associated with severe weather. Nationally tornadoes have killed between 15,000 and 20,000 people over the last century. Over the last decade, the average amount of property lost annually due to severe weather exceeded $1 billion nationally. While storms are monitored carefully by qualified meteorologists with sophisticated equipment and announced over radio and television, the rapid appearance of severe weather and limited access to such reports severely reduces the effectiveness of these weather detection and notification systems. As such, there exists a need for a reliable, self-contained and affordable severe weather detection device which is suitable for detecting and warning of impending severe weather.